Collide
by chrisxgirlx
Summary: Unwillingly thrust into the world of the supernatural by her twin. Grace Swan realizes the time has come to take sides and that her path has always had her on a collision course with her best friend. Can their love survive the horrors heading their way?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One – New Beginnings**

_Everyone's the same  
__our fingers to our toes  
__We just can't get it right  
__But we're on the road_

**_One Republic – All Fall Down_**

**_-0-_**

I had never really allowed myself to dream that one day I'd be back here, back in the place I'd been born, back with my Dad. I loved my Mom, more than anything and I loved Phil but I'd desired this for so long, desired the chance to really get to know my Dad in the way that had been denied to us since childhood. Seeing him for two weeks during summer, talking to him on the phone was all well and good but never really felt like enough to me. When the opportunity had presented itself I'd jumped at the chance, beyond excited yet my sister's reaction had not been as enthusiastic.

Isabella Marie Swan, or Bella as she insisted on us calling her, was more than just my sister. Bella was my twin – fraternal twin sister – and my best friend. We were so different in so many ways, but at the same time it was an easy balance. She was more quiet and reserved and I was more out-going, more willing to take risks. It wasn't just our personalities that differed, it was looks to. We both had our Fathers trademark fair complexion, but that was as far as our similarities went. Bella was much similar to our Dad, Charlie; she had brown hair that framed her face, with wide chocolate coloured eyes. I was closer to our Mom – my hair was a lighter brown, with an almost light reddish tint, with green eyes.

I was more optimistic about this move than Bella. She loved Phoenix, loved the heat whereas I wasn't a huge fan of it. Forks was gloomy, it rained a hell of a lot but I was strangely looked forward to living here for the foreseeable future. I would miss my Mother, of course I would but I didn't worry about her like Bella did, I knew Phil would take care of her, of that I was sure.

"Dad it's great I love it." I said, standing in the center of my old room. A smile broke out on my face as I took in the beautiful blue of the walls, and almost immediately I was transported back to my summers spent here. I really had missed this place more than I'd ever be able to tell him. Walking over to my bed, I ran my hand over the new sheets and looked back at my Dad standing in the doorway, a relieved smile on his face.

"Sue Clearwater picked them out," he informed me and I nodded, thinking that the green bedding and green window sheers that touched the carpet complimented the blue incredibly well. "If you prefer somethin' else we can…"

"No. Dad it looks great, honestly. Tell Sue I said thank you." I told him, watching the worry disappear from his face. Glancing around the room I decided it could use a few little touches here and there to make it feel more like home but in every other way it was perfect. The size wasn't too small, yet at the same time not too big, and the white dresser, desk and beside cabinet simply served to complete the perfect room.

"You think…she's okay?" he asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between us. Looking over at him I watched as he nodded his head down the hall in the direction of Bella's bedroom. Dropping my bag at the bottom of my bed, I walked over to him, watching as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "She was kinda quiet."

"Bella's always quiet Dad. Don't worry." I told him, shooting him a reassuring smile, "It's just a big move, but I know she's looking forward to spending some time with you. We both are." I added honestly. I couldn't be happier to be here, to be with Dad once more. I knew Bella was struggling, even if this had been her idea part of me wondered if she'd perhaps underestimated how much of an affect this was going to have on her. Out of the two of us, it was Bella I was sure was going to struggle the most in adjusting.

Nodding his head, still clearly not convinced if the look on his face was anything to go by, Dad muttered something about letting me settle in and left the room. Smiling fondly I shook my head, he'd never been one to linger and for the first time I appreciated that. School started tomorrow and I wanted to get a head start on all of my unpacking, wanting to add some familiar and comforting personal touches to the otherwise beautiful room.

"Hasn't changed has it."

"I don't think that's a bad thing." I said, turning to acknowledge Bella as she stepped into the room. She shot me a small smile that didn't quite touch her eyes and nodded her head. Frowning I sat on the edge of my bed and patted the spot beside me, indicating she should sit down. Doing just that she sighed softly and it was only now that I was really looking at her I could see just how sad she really was. "Come on Bella, it's not that bad is it? I know the weather sucks but it's not forever is it…" I told her softly, watching her shoulders deflate.

"I know just feels like it…" she said, a frown on her face. Reaching out I took her hand and squeezed it gently, trying to offer her some sort of comfort. I really hoped she at least tried to be here, give it a chance and Dad a chance. I knew she was already missing Phoenix, concerned about Mom and possibly even second guessing the decision to be here. Though Bella's stubbornness always won out, she'd see this through I knew her well enough to know that.

I felt her tighten her hold on my hand before dropping it and pushing up from my bed, determination replacing whatever I'd been seeing on her face only moments ago. "Let's get you unpacked then," she said, moving over to the pile of boxes in the far corner of the room. Watching her for a moment, a shook my head and laughed lightly before standing, kicking off my shoes and following her.

"Suddenly you're the very eager beaver." I joked, hearing her laugh lightly as I poked her in the side. Sighing dramatically I reached out and tore open the first box, ready to finally unpack and settle in.

_**-0-**_

It was the sound of a car honk that stopped me in my tracks some hour or so later. Combing my fingers through my hair, I stepped out my bedroom, to see Bella disappearing down the stairs. "That was Dad's subtle way of calling us down!" she said over her shoulder, rolling her eyes as she disappeared from sight. Smiling in amusement I made my way back into my room and slipped on my shoes before hurrying down the stairs after her.

Once outside my eyes were pulled immediately to the beat up, faded red chevy truck my sister and some boy were climbing into. "Grace, come meet Billy Black." My Dad called out to me, pulling my focus from the truck and onto him and the man in the wheelchair beside him. Smiling softly I moved quickly down the steps and over to my Dad, "You remember Billy don't you Grace?"

"Of course, it's good to see you again," I said truthfully, holding my hand out to Billy. The older man smiled, his large hand encasing my own. "How've you been?"

"Doin' a lot better now you and Bella are here, this one hasn't shut up about it since you two announced you were coming." Billy said, nodding towards my Dad and causing me to laugh lightly. Dad rolled his eyes at the teasing and shook his head at both me and Billy.

"Yeah keep exaggerating old man and I'll roll you into the mud," he threatened playfully, quickly dodging out the way as Billy turned his wheel chair around, charging at my Dad.

"Not before I ram you in the ankles." He threw back, going after Dad as he kept moving backwards. Shaking my head at their antics I laughed, though a loud roar made me jump and turn back towards the truck. Surprised at how loud it sounded I chanced a look back over to my Dad and Billy who were still fooling around and moved over to the front of the truck, peering in through the driver's side window. .

"New toy Bella?" I asked, leaning in against the window and shooting my sister a smile. I then turned my attention to the boy sat in the passenger seat, my smile widening. "Jacob, right?" I asked, vaguely remembering him from one summer spent here with Dad. I watched the surprise register on his face before he nodded and smiled at me in response.

"Yeah…hi…" he replied back, keeping his dark eyes trained on me for a moment. His brilliant smile highlighted his russet skin. He had long dark hair, which looked incredibly thick, soft and the irrational part of me was half tempted to check and see if it was as soft as it looked. "I was just telling Bella you guys are goin' to need to double pump the clutch to get this thing to start." He said and I finally remembered to acknowledge the fact my sister was sat in the truck.

"Dad bought us the truck." Bella explained, taking in the somewhat confused look on my face and I felt my eyes widen. Looking between Bella and Jacob, I leaned back away from the window and turned to my Dad, shooting him a wide smile. Moving the few steps towards where he now stood talking to Billy and wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into his chest. I felt him stiffen slightly before returning the hug, his arm going around my shoulder.

Unlike Bella and my Dad, I had no issue in showing affection. I was more like our Mom in that respect. So when it came to Dad, he had no choice but to go along with it. It was easier for us it seemed, there was no awkwardness and I figure it was because of how open I was with how I felt. Dad and pretty much everyone knew where they stood with me. Bella was more introverted, kept herself to herself, Dad was similar in that way. Their relationship was strange but it worked for them, so I guess it wasn't too bad.

"Thanks Dad, it's awesome." I said, listening as he explained he'd bought it off Billy, knowing Bella and I would need a way to and from school. As he conversed with Billy, I inclined my head to the side, watching as Jacob and Bella moved over to us and once again found my focus pulled to the other boy. "Will you be coming with us to school tomorrow?" I asked, releasing my hold on Dad and immediately feeling the chill in the air.

"Already asked, Jacob goes to school on the reservation." Bella said, a flash of disappointment flooding through me as she spoke. It would have been nice to have someone familiar there with us tomorrow, that and it would have been nice to get to know Jacob a little more. Shooting him a warm smile, I glanced at Bella, shrugging my shoulders and reaching out to take her hand, offering her another comforting squeeze.

"Well, least we got each other." I reminded her, hoping she wouldn't be as freaked out about tomorrow. I know she was worried, Bella hated being the center of attention and there'd be no escaping that tomorrow being the new kids and all. An awkward silence seemed to lapse over the group before I clapped my hands together and looked at them all, "So come on, one of you show me how to start this truck." I said, and Bella laughed shaking her head.

"I don't think so. The way you drive, this thing won't make it down the street." She teased, making me narrow my eyes at her. I opened my mouth to respond when Dad placed his hands on my shoulders,

"Yeah how about we just let your sister drive for now, I think we'll all sleep better." He joked, making Bella and the others chuckle. I sighed dramatically and rolled my eyes,

"Jeez, one fender bender and suddenly you can't be trusted behind the wheel." I said, crossing my arms over my chest, playing along with them. Moving to stand in between Bella and Jacob I paused before continuing, nodding my head, "Fine, Bella can drive but I'm choosing the music."

"Sounds fair to me." Jacob chimed in and I smiled, nodding my head and linking my arm through his, raising my eyebrows at Bella. Jacob chuckled and looked at my sister as well, my new ally in this playful little battle. Bella pulled a face and rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She sighed, sticking her tongue out at me before turning and walking back to the front of the truck. With a smile I turned to Jacob and high fived the hand he held up to me. Tugging on his arm I followed after Bella with him in tow.

"See, compromise. I think this is going to work."

_**-0-**_

_**So here we go. I had some reservations about posting this, simply because I know it's been done so many times before. At the same time I hope you guys give it a chance, I'm hoping you'll see it as different to the many others out there. **_

_**As always, letting me know what you guys think really helps me understand what you want. Also it's love and I'm really hoping I can get some of that. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two – First Day**_

A place to crash, I got you  
No need to ask, I got you  
Just get on the phone, I got you  
Come and pick you up if I have to

_**Leona Lewis – I Got You**_

_**-0-**_

I woke up fairly early for the first day of school. Not usually a morning person I decided to take advantage of this sudden burst of energy and quickly scrambled out from beneath the warm covers, grabbed my stuff and headed into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I jumped in and immediately felt my body wake up completely. Knowing there were two other people in the house though who would need to use this bathroom I knew my time in here was limited so didn't indulge in the shower for too long.

"Morning sunshine." I laughed lightly, as I stepped out the bathroom at the same time Bella came out of her room, looking none too pleased. The only reply I got was a grumble as she moved into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Frowning at the now closed door I debated knocking and making sure she was okay. Her eyes had been red and puffy, indicating she'd spent some time crying last night and now I knew I hadn't imagined hearing something last night.

Deciding to leave her alone and talk to her later, I ran the towel through my hair and walked into my room, eyeing the outfit I'd picked out for today once more before reaching for my hair dryer. I was excited for today, more so than I thought I would be, but I was also incredibly nervous. Bella and I were going to be the centre of attention there was no doubt about that. Not only were we new, we were the Chief's twin daughters, the same two his estranged wife had taken away so many years ago. I was prepared for it all, I just hoped Bella was.

Glancing at my bedside clock I quickly finished off my hair, applied just a little make-up and reached for the clothes I'd picked out for the day. Pulling on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a white Chanel printed t-shirt, and my cream boots. Grabbing a pink cardigan from my drawers, I wrapped my cream scarf around my neck, picked up my bag and finally made my way downstairs.

"Mornin' Dad," I said, walking into the kitchen, seeing my Dad already sat at the table. Dropping my bag beside a chair I leaned down and kissed his cheek before heading to the fridge.

"Mornin' Gracey. Ready for school?" he asked and for a moment I swear I heard a tinge of worry in his tone when he spoke. Shooting a smile over my shoulder I nodded my head, pouring myself a glass of juice.

"I'm ready; don't worry so much old man." I teased, hearing him chuckle as he pushed out from the table, washing out his cup.

"Enough with the old man, peanut." He replied, leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead. "I have to get to the station, good luck for today…" he said, backing up as Bella walked into the kitchen, looking less than happy, "…both of you." He finally added, kissing the top of Bella's head, before the two shared another awkward goodbye and he quickly departed.

Once I heard the front door close I held out a glass of juice to Bella and shot her a reassuring smile. "How you doin'?" I asked her, expecting a grumble in response but to my surprise Bella leaned beside me at the counter and sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'll be alright. Just want to get today over with." She said, downing her drink and discarding the glass in the sink. Eyeing her for a moment, I debated pushing her for more but in the end decided to go along with her and finished my drink. "You ready?" she asked, already shrugging on her coat. Chuckling I nodded my head and grabbed my bag and coat.

"Let's go."

_**-0-**_

The truck ran surprisingly well, loud but good. I made a note to thank Jacob and Billy again when they came over at the weekend. The school itself was easy enough to find and I had to admit it was a lot different to what I'd been expecting. It was unique in appearance, looking more like a collection of matching houses, with maroon coloured bricks. It was far different than what I was used to back home and I found I liked that quite a lot. I certainly didn't miss the chain link fences or metal detectors…they'd always been a hassle.

Bella parked the truck in the lot and one glance out the window indicated everyone nearby was now turned in our direction. Glancing at Bella I smiled, nodding my head sensing her unease. She sighed softly before we both grabbed our bags and climbed out the truck. Making my way around to her, I brushed my hair from my face and reached out to Bella, linking my arm through one of hers, giving her a light tug. "Let's go get signed in sis." I said eager to get out of the drizzle.

"So it begins." Bella commented, making me chuckle as we walked. Whilst I was doing my best to ignore the stares, she clearly seemed more focused on them despite her obvious attempts to prove otherwise.

"Just ignore them Bell's."

The office wasn't hard to find and it was quite small. With a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls and a big clock was ticking loudly in the background. It was hard not to compare it to Phoenix and point out how different it was. As Bella introduced herself to the woman behind the counter, I did the same. "Grace Swan." Immediately the awareness of who we were lit up her eyes. Like I'd predicted, sadly Bella and I had been the topic of gossip here in town.

"Of course, let me get your schedules and maps." She said, already digging through a pile of documents stacked neatly on her desk. Bella and I got several sheets each, with her highlighting our classes and the best routes to each of them. Once we had the slips for the teachers to sign we were thankfully excused. After politely thanking her for the help Bella and I left the office.

"Figures, first day of school and I have Calculus. What about you?" I asked Bella, frowning down at my schedule briefly. Peering over Bella's shoulder I smiled seeing she had English, a subject I knew would ease her into school. Though seeing the frown on her face I tilted my head. "What's up?"

"Gym." Bella said simply, pulling a face and I laughed again.

"Oh cheer up; at least we can suffer through it together." I reminded her, holding our schedules side by side so she could look. "Plus we have Government together, so it's not all bad." Bella opened her mouth to respond, the frown on her face finally disappearing when an Asian boy suddenly appeared in front of us, clearly having no understanding of personal space.

"Bella and Grace Swan am I right?" he asked, though before either of us could formulate a verbal response he was opening his mouth to speak again, "I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place. Anything you need, tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on, I'm your guy…"

I bit my tongue so as not to laugh and quickly glanced over at Bella who was looking at this guy Eric like he had two heads. "Thanks but I'm more of a suffer in silence type." She told him, and he nodded looking over at me and I chuckled.

"I'm her handler." I joked, trying not to laugh when Bella glared at me. The boy – Eric, though did and he nodded again, clapping his hands together. He went on to mention about us being in the school newspaper and I let Bella talk him out of that. I didn't much fancy the idea of an article being written about us. Granted I wasn't as introverted as Bella but even I had my limits and being the new girls was hard enough without drawing even more unnecessary attention to ourselves.

Bella left a few minutes later with Eric to their first class, leaving me to figure out the map in my hands. After studying it for a moment I turned on my heel and headed down the hall in the direction of what I hoped was my class. Thankfully I found it just as the bell rang and after taking a shaky, calming breath I followed the rest of the class inside of the small room, ignoring the stares and heading straight to the teacher.

_**-0-**_

"Having fun yet?"

"I can hardly contain myself." Bella muttered back and I laughed quietly before refocusing on the tray of food I'd just sat down with. Opening my can of coke I glanced at the others sat at the table and smiled, offering some of them a wave.

"You must be Grace, I'm Angela." I shared a warm smile with the girl called Angela. Bella was sat beside her and before I'd approached they'd been briefly conversing which was something. If Bella was making an effort then she had to be alright. Beside Angela sat Jessica whom I'd met in Biology. She seemed like a nice enough girl, definitely more of a gossip but friendly nevertheless. Then there was Eric and obviously Mike, who had seemingly taken a lot of interest in Bella. Saying that, all of the guys had, my sister of course didn't like the attention she was getting which made it all the more amusing.

"Hey Mike so you're not hassling my home girl are you?" Eric said, leaning over the table as Mike continued to try and engage Bella in conversation. Chuckling I picked up a few fries and pushed them into my mouth, shooting Bella a side long amused glance.

"Oh, your home girl?" Mike asked, raising his eyebrows at Eric.

"Here's my girl." Chimed in a voice from behind me, dropping a kiss onto my cheek before pulling out Mikes chair, causing the other boy to go crashing to the floor, landing hard on his ass. Bella stared at me wide eyed whilst I laughed in slightly shock as Mike scrambled to his feet and chased after Tyler, the same guy I'd met in Spanish. Shaking my head I looked back at the others at the table as Eric also stood with his notepad and walked away.

"Oh my god it's like first grade all over again and you guys are like the shiny new toys." Jessica commented, laughing lightly. I glanced at her sensing more than humour in her tone, it was almost like jealously but I didn't point it out. As a group we lapsed into comfortable conversation with Bella suggesting to Angela she do a feature in the newspaper about speedo padding on the swim team which made me laugh, knowing Bella was remembering the swim team back home.

"Who…who are _they?_"

It wasn't the question that caught my attention it was the breathy way in which she asked it, almost breathy and in awe. Shooting a curious look I followed her line of sight over to the cafeteria doors and it was immediately obvious who'd caught my twin sister's attention. There were four other students, pale and inhumanly beautiful, almost ethereal stood there. Their hair, their clothes impossibly perfect. Each of them looked as though they belonged on a runway.

"They're Dr and Mrs Cullen's foster kids; there are five of them all together." Angela explained, leaning against the table. "They moved down from Alaska a few years ago…"

"Yeah and they're all together." Jessica chimed in excitedly; Angela rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Like together, together you know?"

"They pretty much keep to themselves" Angela added as an afterthought, nodding in Jessica's direction, making me chuckle. Bella however continued to stare at the four newcomers, seemingly captivated with them and one couldn't really blame her.

"Do they have names?" I asked, picking up a fry and casting a look up at Jessica and Angela and the group of four began to move towards a table. Even the way they moved seemed inhuman, almost too graceful, even the guys.

"Okay so the blonde girl, that's Rosalie and the guy she's latched onto is Emmett," Jessica explained and I raised my eyebrows. So they were together, and they all lived together. It was scandalous for sure, especially in a small town. "Then there's Alice, she's the little dark haired girl dancing around Jasper, the guy who looks in pain. I swear Dr Cullen's like a foster Dad slash matchmaker,"

"Maybe he'll adopt me." Angela said jokingly and I laughed, nodding my head agreeing with her.

"Who's he?" Bella asked again, this time sounding breathless. I again shot my sister a look, surprised by her reaction and somewhat curious to see who'd caused it. Glancing past her again I watched as another boy stepped into the canteen, no doubt part of the little group, he was incredibly beautiful. Everything from his hair, to his nose, lips, all of it was perfectly sculptured as if on marble.

"That's Edward Cullen, gorgeous of course but too good for anyone here, so I wouldn't waste your time." Jessica said, speaking more so to Bella than me. Bella blushed, having to force herself to look away from the boy and shook her head, looking down at her plate.

"I wasn't planning on it." She said softly, and out the corner of my eyes I watched as she slowly glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes locking onto Edward again. Watching her for a moment, I sighed deciding not to interrupt her before turning back to my dinner and the girls, amused at the sudden fascination Bella had in the Cullens.

_**-0-**_

"First day over with, wasn't too bad was it?" I asked Bella after we left the gym, slipping away as soon as the bell rang. Bella shot me another look and I chuckled, linking my arm through hers, "Oh cheer up, it could have been worse…Mike could've walked us to the office." I teased, watching the small smile play on her lips as she rolled her eyes.

"What joy that would have been." She jokingly replied back, making me laugh. There was the Bella I knew and loved. Something had been bothering her all through gym and I had a nasty feeling it had something to do with Edward Cullen, only because Mike had mentioned Bella sitting beside him in Biology. When I'd mentioned it to her she'd frowned and avoided saying anything, but whatever had happened was clearly bothering her, I knew that much.

We weaved our way through the now busy corridor, with me pulling the door to the office open for Bella once we got there. She stepped past me and it was only when I went to follow her that I realised she'd stopped in the doorway. "Bella what the hell…" I muttered, standing just behind her, catching sight of what it was she was staring at.

"There must be something open sixth period. Physics, bio-chem…anything." Edward Cullen implored the frustration clear in his voice. His hands gripping the counter tightly, his entire body tensed. I frowned as I stared at Edward's back, my gaze drifting between him and my sister.

"Like I've explained dear everything is full, you'll have to stay in biology." The red-haired receptionist explained to him, making my frown deepen. He had biology with Bella, they'd sat together, it made me wonder what in the world had happened between them.

"Bella…?" I said her name quietly, but almost instantly his back stiffened and his hands dropped away from the counter, as he finally turned towards us.

"I'll just be a minute dears. Mr Cullen?" The receptionist said, and I shot her a small smile, she was looking rather frazzled and looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.

"Forget it. I'll just have to endure it." Edward growled back at her, a dark glare on his face as he focused on Bella, immediately making me shift closer to her. His eyes shot to me before quickly walking past both Bella and I, roughly pushing the door open.

For a long moment, things were deathly silent in the office. I looked away from the door, to the receptionist, watching her shuffle her papers before I walked around Bella and fixed her with a pointed look. "Okay, what the hell happened between you two in biology?" I asked her firmly. Bella looked down at her feet for a moment before shaking her head.

"Drop it Grace." She said softly, touching my arm before walking around me and to the counter to give in her slip. Shaking my head, I followed, handing in the slip I'd had signed by all my teachers, not pushing Bella for any more information, but vowing to keep an eye on her and Cullen.

_**-0-**_

"Jacob called."

Looking up from my homework I focused on my Dad now stood in my doorway. Shooting him a smile I put down my pen. "Calling to check in on his truck?" I asked, holding up my hands, "I didn't get behind the wheel I swear, so it's still running." I joked, watching my Dad roll his eyes and chuckle. "What did he want?" I asked, closing over my books and standing from my bed to pack them away.

"He asked after you." Dad said, and it wasn't hard to miss the hint of something in Dad's voice. Narrowing my eyes I turned to him, crossing my arms over my chest, Dad doing the same. "He seemed pretty eager to talk to you."

"Subtle Dad." I commented, smiling as I set my school bag down on my desk chair ready to pick up for tomorrow. I smiled at the idea of Jacob calling, asking after me. The few hours we'd spent with the parental units and Bella yesterday had been good, it'd been impossible to not smile with Jacob around. He'd quickly become someone I considered a friend, "Him and his Dad still coming over at the weekend?" I asked Dad, finally turned to look at him again.

"Yep. Billy's bringin' Harry's fish fry."

"Sounds good." I said, putting my hands on my hips and smiling, "So if you've finished acting like an old woman I need to get ready for bed." I teased, making Charlie chuckle as he held up his hands.

"I can take a hint. See you tomorrow kiddo." He said, dropping a kiss on my forehead as he left the room and headed to Bella's. Smiling as he left, I closed the door behind him and went to fish my mobile out of my bag, immediately opening a new message, scrolling down to Jacob's name.

'_**Sorry I missed your call, everything okay? Trucks still alive! G x'**_

Laying my phone back down on the bed after sending the message I began to change into my pyjamas, leaving my room only briefly to go see Bella. Knocking on her door I peeked in, "Hey duck how you feelin'?"I asked, making my way over to her bed. Bella lay down her copy of Wuthering Heights and nodded an amused smile on her face.

"Lost her phone charger again." She said fondly and I laughed lightly, suddenly really missing my hair brained Mother. "She said Phil's training's going well too." She went on to add and I nodded.

"That's great." I said honestly. I was extremely happy for Phil and really hoped everything worked out for him with this baseball thing. Both he and Mom deserved to have this dream come true. "So what about you, you okay?" I asked, bumping her with my shoulder. Bella sighed and I knew she was considering brushing me off again but she knew I wasn't going to keep letting this go. Edward had upset her and I wanted to know what had happened. "Do I need to kick some butts the school? You know I will, just say the word…"

"You'll kick his butt?" Bella asked, looking at me pointedly to which I narrowed my eyes playfully, before shrugging and smiling.

"Okay, Dad will kick his butt." I said, happy she seemed to find that funny. Taking her hand I squeezed it lightly, "In all seriousness though, you going to be alright tomorrow?" I asked and for a moment she didn't answer. I watched her face carefully as she seemingly frowned, deep in thought before a familiar look of determination crossed her features and she nodded.

"I'm going to confront him and find out what his problem is." She said and I quickly felt impressed. The idea of her confronting the jerk who was unnecessarily horrible to her made me proud. Bella wasn't one for confrontation but something seemed different here and I was glad to see this side of her come out to play. It rarely did and I was happy to see her take charge attitude.

"That's my girl." I said, making her smile before she laid her head on my shoulder. With my head on hers we sat there for a moment, both preparing for our second night here in Forks. Squeezing her hand again, I sat up and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Night duck." I said, standing from the bed.

"Night sis." She said softly, burrowing down into her sheets. Smiling again I turned the light off and closed the door over, leaving the room and heading back into my own. Switching off the lights I blindly made my way to my bed and pulled back the covers, climbing underneath and taking a few moments to revel in the comfort of the warm duvet. Back home in Phoenix, I'd only ever managed to have a sheet over me, here due to the cold the covers were much thicker and I loved it.

Reaching for my phone I felt my face once again pull into another smile, something I'd been doing a lot of lately.

'_**Funny but glad to hear it! Call you tomorrow! We should hang out! Night x J x'**_

Smiling at the text I laid the phone down on the bedside cabinet and burrowed down into my covers closing my eyes. I really liked the idea of hanging out with Jacob some more, I was even debating making some arrangements to hang out with Jessica and Angela. Despite the issue with Edward and his attitude towards Bella, everything was turning out great. I had a really good feeling about Forks.

Little did I know then, that already things were heading down a path that was set to irrevocably change Bella's life and in turn mine, forever.

_**-0-**_

_**So here is chapter two. Sorry for the long wait but it's here, working on editing the next chapter now which is set to be much longer so I hope you guys are enjoying it so far. Do you guys like what you've seen of Grace so far? The story isn't going to focus heavily on Bella's story but Grace's and how Bella's decisions affect her and her family, with a few more creative changes to what you guys know.**_

_**Let me know what you think. Reviews are like love and I want this story to get to get as much as it can, plus it always helps to know what you guys think. **_

_Captain-Spangled – It is up! Late reply but still it's here and thanks for a great review hun. They are partners in crime already, I'm really excited about their growing friendship because that's an important basis for them later. Not much of Jacob in this chapter but still hope you enjoyed it. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three - Moments**

_Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight_  
_Like this city is on fire tonight_  
_This could really be a good life_  
_A good, good life_

**_One Republic - Good Life_**

**_-0-_**

After our first day, the rest of the week passed by quickly. Edward hadn't shown his face after Monday and I sensed Bella's disappointment. She'd told me about her desire to confront Edward about his strange behavior and whilst I was proud of her determination to stand up for herself, I also didn't think she should have been allowing it to bother her as much as it was. Still I supported her in what she was doing, even as the days continued to pass and he didn't show.

Saturday was finally here and for that I was thankful. The week had taken it out of me, the moving, unpacking and trying to settle into a new school had all caught up with me. As much as I was enjoying school, I, like any student reveled in the fact I didn't have to get up, right now I didn't have any responsibilities, except school and now it was the weekend I was free to spend it how I wanted to. There was no alarm set, no clothes picked out, no homework to hand in, just me, my bed and a lazy morning. Or at least it was supposed to be.

"Hey move over."

Peeking out from under my duvet I grumbled and shifted back, closer to the wall and pulling the covers back to let Bella climb in. The left side of the bed dipped slightly as she wormed her way beneath the duvet, getting comfortable before finally stilling. For several minutes we just lay there in silence, eyes closed, not really sleeping but just enjoying the quiet and comfort of not having anywhere to be.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this cold." Bella muttered, eventually breaking the silence. She shifted around again, seemingly wrapping the duvet tighter around herself and I couldn't help but chuckle at her dramatics. Sure it was cold, but strangely I liked cold mornings it meant I got to bury myself deeper in bed. It was a hell of a lot better than waking up in Phoenix, where most mornings the sheets were on the floor and you were quite literally laying sprawled out, upside down on the bed just trying to get comfortable because you were that hot.

"You're just a freeze baby." I said my voice heavy with sleep. Blinking against the light filtering in through the crack in my blinds I sighed softly. "I wish you slept later though." I joked, hearing Bella chuckle. "You manage to sleep any better last night though?" I asked, more than aware of her sleeping habits over the last couple of nights. She was struggling and it had me worried, I couldn't understand why it was so hard for her, I knew the move had been a lot but I never expected her to struggle this much settling in.

Bella though, didn't answer, she stayed quiet and I knew last night had been the same. She'd had the strange dreams again; the one's she never quite knew how to describe. When she had tried, she'd said they were dark, confusing, sometimes terrifying with the constant fear she was being watched. Me, personally I had to wonder if it was the move. Keeping everything inside instead of vocalizing what she was really feeling. Bella hated to disappoint, so there was no way she'd tell Dad how she felt and there was no way, despite what I'd told her, that she'd tell Mom she wasn't happy.

"Jacob and Billy are coming over today." She said by way of changing the topic. Instead of pushing her like I wanted, I smiled and went along with it. "5 dollars says the first thing Jacob does is check the truck." She joked and I laughed lightly, nodding my head against the pillows.

"I'm not taking that bet because it's pretty much a given that he's goin' to make sure it's still got four wheels." I replied, smiling when Bella laughed lightly. Stifling a yawn behind my hand I shifted again, peeking past Bella's shoulder to the clock on the bedside cabinet. "It's way too early to be awake." I sighed, wanting nothing more than to drift back to sleep but knowing it'd never happen now I was awake.

"I'm sorry." She said, but her tone said anything but. Rolling onto my back I covered a yawn with my hand again and let my mind wander to the day ahead. "Dad thinks he's got a crush on you." Bella said, once again breaking the silence and I groaned. Shooting her a glare that didn't quite have the effect I wanted it to, instead all it did was make Bella's eyes sparkle in mischief, once again showing a side she didn't really show many. "You do know he's two years younger don't you Grace…he's innocent."

"Oh wow." I laughed, covering my mouth with the duvet and laughing. "We're friends, nothing more, you and Dad are terrible." I chuckled, the idea of corrupting Jacob's innocence still tickling me. Bella laughed lightly and stuck out her tongue.

"I'm teasing you. Besides, it's pretty obvious Tyler likes you…" she said and I stilled, looking at her. Tyler had been dropping hints about maybe going out this weekend and if I was honest I was somewhat flattered. He was good looking, funny, smart, pretty much the whole package but the truth was I was still settling in and not really attracted to him in the way I thought I should be. The good thing was though, we were friends, we'd been quick friends and I liked that.

"He's great, but I think he knows we're just friends." I replied, frowning slightly as I entertained the idea of ever possibly being more. Looking at Bella as I sighed, I decided it was time to get up but not before I shot a mischievous smile at Bella. "Besides, stop trying to turn all of that on me. You think I haven't noticed the way Mike hovers around you…you ask me, you two would be the most adorable…."

Before I had the chance to finish my sentence Bella hit me in the face with her pillow, her cheeks reddening as she hid beneath the duvet. Laughing lightly I threw the pillow back at her and sat up, "No denying it then ducky." I carried on, climbing over her and swiftly dodging the pillow she once again threw at me. "Really, Bella and Mike…Mike and Bella…a nice ring to it…"

"That's it!" Bella exclaimed, throwing back the covers. Laughing I turned and ran out of the room and the bathroom locking myself inside. "I'll get you back Grace." She warned through the door, the pair of us laughing as she returned to her room and I turned on the shower.

Catching a glance of myself in the mirror and the light color in my cheeks I shook my head before stripping out of my clothes and stepping under the hot stream of water, readying myself for the day ahead, looking forward to seeing Billy and Jacob again.

_**-0-**_

"Billy and Jacob are…"

Before Dad could even finish I was opening the front door and stepping outside to greet the two. Dressed in skinny jeans and an over-sized jumper I shivered from the chill in the air, but headed down the steps with Dad in tow, returning Jacob's bright smile which he aimed my way. "Hey guys!" I said happily, as Billy was helped by Jacob into his wheelchair. I quickly reigned in my excitement, especially when I caught sight of Bella peeking out her bedroom window.

"Hey old man," Charlie said, his arm draping over my shoulder as I rolled my eyes at his comment. Billy though chuckled in good humor. Their friendship made me smile, the way they tore into each other always made me laugh; I enjoyed seeing this playful side of my Dad.

"I'll show you old man." He replied, before I leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek. "How you doin' Gracey?" he asked and I shrugged,

"Happy it's the weekend. Dad's been raving all week about this fish fry." I commented, indicating to the bag on Billy's lap. It was true, since it had been arranged that the Blacks were coming around, Dad had been promising Bella and I that we were in for a treat. That Harry's fish fry was the best around. Bella wasn't so enthusiastic about trying it but since I'd never had it before I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Well let's get this heated up…" Billy announced, already being pushed past Jacob and I as Dad wheeled him to the stairs. Smiling I slipped my hands into the back of my jeans as I watched them converse before turning back to Jacob who was eyeing the truck. Rolling my eyes I laughed and lightly tapped his arm.

"See, like I promised not a mark on her." I said, crossing my arms. Jacob ran a scrutinizing eye over the truck, before looking at me and smiling that infectious smile of his.

"Fair enough but come on, can you blame me for worrying?" he asked and I huffed indignantly. Falling into step with him and as we followed after our Dad's, Jacob crouching to grab his Father's chair and help Charlie get him up the steps. "I do wanna know why no one trusts you behind the wheel though.

"No you don't." I said at the same time Dad groaned, obviously remembering the hour long phone call he'd shared with Mom the night after my accident. Scowling at him as he moved inside the house I turned to Jacob, seeing him watching me expectantly. With a dramatic sigh I waved at him to follow me. "Fine, but just for the record it was a total accident. Everyone just blew it way out of proportion." I said, giving Dad a pointed look when I took the bag of fish fry from him.

"I think we can agree that's not true kid." He said, his eyes twinkling in amusement when I stuck out my tongue at him childishly. Turning I grabbed Jacob's arm and led him into the kitchen, glad he came with willingly.

"So what happened?" Jacob asked, dropping down into a chair at the kitchen table. Leaving the bag on the counter I turned to face him and crossed my arms again.

"I got distracted, pressed down on the accelerator instead of the brake and crashed Mom's brand new car into a fire hydrant…" I explained, wincing slightly as I thought back to that day. Glancing at Jacob I saw him biting down on his lip obviously trying to hold back his laughter. Narrowing my eyes at him playfully, my hands migrated to my hips. "It wasn't funny; I had to wear a neck brace for 3 weeks…" I added trailing off as he let out what I could only say, was a bark of laughter.

"Understand now why they won't let you behind the wheel of the truck." He said once his laughter had died down. Sticking out my tongue I turned to begin making dinner. "So what had you distracted?" he asked, now standing beside me at the counter, leaning back against it. Blushing I focused on the fish fry, feeling his eyes burning into the side of my head, waiting patiently for me to answer.

"Competition on the radio, my friend and I entered and won. All day pass to 'Castles N Coasters'. Sadly because of the neck brace I couldn't go…" I said pouting as I looked at him, the sting of having to give up my ticket still fresh. I'd be the first to admit there were times when I felt like a child, the things that I got excited over were completely different to Bella. She was a lot more mature in many ways; amusement parks didn't interest her, whereas me, well I loved them.

"Adrenaline junky then?"

"I like the speed, the height, the adrenaline, that weightless feeling you get…what's not to love?" I asked him, daring him to argue. I met his gaze and Jacob shrugged, making me frown. "Have you ever been to an amusement park?" I asked curiously, watching his cheeks darken before he shook his head.

"We don't usually get anything like that around here." He answered and almost immediately a smile broke out onto my face, an idea hitting me.

"Then we'll put that on a list of things we can do. You have to go to an amusement park at least once, seriously missing out if you don't." I said, already making mental notes to look into the closest park. Shooting Jacob a smile I shooed him out of the way as I reached for the pan. "So what is it you do for fun around here?" I asked letting my eyes flicker to the doorway, the sounds of our Dad's conversing loudly drifting through into the kitchen.

"Well there's First Beach…" he answered, causing me to pause. A small flicker of a memory trying to push to the forefront of my mind, though as quick as it had appeared it was gone again. First beach did sound incredibly familiar. "We spent a couple summers there, when you guys used to visit your Dad." He said by way of reminding me and I smiled brightly. The memory wasn't clear but it was there.

"I remember!" I said, frowning as I tried to pick out something from the memory. "I remember marshmallows and being caked in mud…?" Jacob laughed loudly and nodded his head,

"Yep. That was my fault, Old Quil chewed me out for weeks after that…" he said, wincing slightly and I chuckled, leaning a hip against the counter.

"Why did he do that?" I asked, meeting his gaze. I couldn't remember Old Quil, I didn't even understand why me being covered in mud would have offended him but just as Jacob opened his mouth to reply another voice sounded in the kitchen.

"Please say there's something I can help with."

My focus shifted from Jacob to Bella as my sister entered the kitchen, an amused smile on her face as she shook her head. She waved her hand in Jacob's direction, her hands then slipping awkwardly into her pockets of her jeans. "Dad and Billy not interesting enough for you?" I asked watching Bella roll her eyes as she opened the cupboard.

"They're talking baseball strategies…may as well be talking latin." She said, causing Jacob and I to laugh a little. Another reason Dad and Bella were so different, she hated sports, had never been able to get her head around them. Whereas I loved baseball and football, another thing Dad and I had in common.

"Not a baseball fan Bella?" Jacob asked his focus now on my sister as I carried on making dinner. I heard Bella scoff and smile,

"Not a fan of sport in general, I just…don't get it." She said pulling a face, making me roll my eyes, reminding me yet again how many times I'd had to sit there and try to explain the rules of the game.

"Yeah, Bella's more of a tortured romance novel kind of girl." I joked,

Glancing over my shoulder I watched as she sat at the table, opposite Jacob and I smiled. _'It's strange'_ I thought as I looked at him. How at ease I already felt, how at ease Bella felt around him. There was something about his mere presence that just radiated warmth. There was no awkward getting to know you stages, it was just easy like we'd always been friends. I hadn't felt the usual need to fill any silence or search for something interesting to talk about. We just talked, I liked that.

Smiling to myself I turned around, shaking the thoughts from my head and collided with another body, feeling a strong grip on my waist. "Watch yourself." Jacob said, smiling down at me and I felt myself unable to do anything but respond in kind. When Jacob let his hands drop from my waist, he stepped through to the living room to see if Billy and Dad wanted a drink. All the while my eyes followed him taking in the physical aspects of him. He stood at around 5"10, his frame somewhat lanky and then his hair, it was long for any guy I'd met and it was tied back in a ponytail. An irrational part of me craved to reach out and play with his hair, to run my fingers through it but I fought it away.

A snigger forced my focus away from Jacob's retreating form and back to Bella. Frowning I looked at her, seeing my sister hiding an amused smile behind her hand and looking at me knowingly, "He's so innocent." She whispered and I narrowed my eyes at her playfully before throwing the kitchen towel at her. Making her laugh as it hit her square in the face.

"Shut up. Or I'm going to tell Dad you want to learn more about baseball."

_**-0-**_

"He's back."

Looking up from my assignment I brushed away a stray curl and let my eyes linger on Bella as she moved to sit beside me. It was a new week and we were back at school, the day wasn't the best as it was snowing. I was excited, looking forward to the snow ball fight after I'd finished here, but Bella despised the weather having already fallen over twice. I was sporting a giant bruise on my knee from her little stumble this morning after I'd tried to catch her.

It was only when I was looking at Bella closer that I noticed the sparkle in her eyes, noticed the way her cheeks were flushing a bright red. "Who's back?" I asked, closing over my chemistry book and packing away my things into my back pack, chancing a glance at the clock above the library door, noting I was set to meet Mike and the others outside in 5 more minutes.

"Edward. He was in biology and we, well spoke." She explained and I looked at her in slight surprise, mainly because of how excited she seemed. She was a far cry from the girl who only last week had been trying to get her head around why he was being so horrible. Personally I don't think she should have been bothered, and still didn't understand why she was still talking about him. I didn't know him but the guy sounded like a real jerk, not worth her time.

"What happened to you confronting him about being a giant jackass to you last week?" I asked, already seeing the spark of infatuation. Bella smiled and shrugged, her expression making me frown again. At this rate I was going to get wrinkles.

"Something's still bothering him but we spoke at least." She said a little breathy, staring off into the distance as I rolled my eyes before fastening my bag. On the one hand her having an interest in someone of the opposite sex was good, it was about time but still, she could have chosen someone who hadn't been such a jerk to her for no good reason.

Combing my fingers through my hair I sighed and pushed my chair back, shrugging on my coat and picking up my bag. "You coming or you going to sit here drooling over Mr Bi-Polar?" I asked, not bothered by the slight scowl she sent my way before she stood. Without another word the pair of us left the library, me pulling on my gloves and fastening my jacket. I was both looking forward to the snow fight and getting home. Jacob was set to call later about hanging out at the weekend.

"Where's your scarf?"

I looked at Bella and then down to the front of my jacket and groaned, realizing I'd left it in the library. Telling Bella to go ahead without me I turned and hurried back to the library, snatching up my green scarf from the back of my chair. Wrapping it around my neck I smiled, adjusted my bag and turned into the hallway, heading back towards the main doors. Almost unable to contain my excitement, I pulled on my hat and pushed my way through the doors only to come to a stumbling stop, disappointment flooding through my body.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed, fighting down the urge to pout like a three year old. It was raining; the snow from this morning washed away but the ice was still in place. Shaking my head I tightened my coat around me, crossing my arms over my chest and began my way down the steps to the car park. My eyes sought out Bella, half-hoping she'd made it to the car without falling but not banking on it. When I did find her standing next to the truck I noticed her staring behind her, across the car park. Curious I followed her like on sight to find her staring at none other than Edward Cullen.

Cullen was stood beside his silver Volvo with his family, his gaze also locked on Bella. They continued to stare at one another with such a strange intensity that it set me on edge. Shaking my head I stepped onto the tarmac to head to the truck and pull Bella up on what was going on with her and Edward when a high-screeching sound made me stumble to a stop.

Turning my head to the side I found the sound to be coming from Tyler's black truck. The same truck was moving at an unbelievable fast pace and skidding out of control. I could only watch in horror when I realized that the black truck was heading straight for our truck, with no signs of slowing or stopping. My sister was still stood in the same place, still not realizing the danger heading her way. People called out, ducked out the way, watched in horror. As for me, my body froze in fear, I was paralyzed, unable to do anything but scream out. "Bella!"

One second she was there, the next she was gone. There was a loud crash, then silence. No one spoke, no one moved; every one stared at the truck for what felt like an eternity. It only lasted for a few seconds though, still I paid no mind to the screams around me. Almost in a trance, with my heart in my mouth I took one step, then another, my bag dropping from my shoulder onto the tarmac before I began running towards the accident. My heart was pounding erratically against my chest, every worst case scenario passing through my head. Bella was dead, how could she have survived this? If she was dead…

"Bella?" I cried out, seeing Edward moving away from the truck but paying him no mind. My body was shaking; tears were streaming down my face as I rounded Tyler's truck, not sure if I was prepared for whatever sight would greet me. What I saw though made me stop, a choked cry escaping my mouth as I watched Bella standing shakily, looking stunned but unharmed. Pushing my way past the growing crowd and climbing between the trucks I pulled Bella into my arms, holding her tightly and burying my face into her shoulder, finally allowing myself to cry. "Oh my god…I was…I thought…oh my god."

"I'm okay." She breathed, her voice sounding distant as she hugged me back. Someone cried out they'd called an ambulance but I didn't pay them any attention, my entire focus was on Bella and how close I'd come to losing her. "I'm okay." She whispered again at the same time I was thanking God for whatever had happened to save her life.

_**-0-**_

**"_So she's okay?"_**

"Yeah thank goodness. I don't know how but yeah she's fine…" I said with a shake of my head, still in a kind of shock. Once I'd managed to let go of Bella earlier on in the day I'd looked at Tyler's truck, seen the huge dent in the driver's side like something had held it back from hitting Bella. I didn't linger on it though, I was just thankful my sister had come out of what could have been something horrific, alive.

**"_The how doesn't matter, I'm just happy she's alright." _**Jacob said on the other end of the line and I smiled at the sincerity in his tone. He'd been the first one I'd text earlier this afternoon whilst waiting in the hospital for Bella. **_"What about you?"_** his concern for me warming my chest.

"I'm fine now, a little worn out from the excitement though." I admitted, laughing lightly. On the end of the line Jacob laughed, the sound strangely becoming my favorite sound. In such a short time he'd become more than a friend, he was becoming my best friend, just like he had been when we were younger according to what my Dad had told me anyway, my memories were slightly fuzzy.

**"_Forks isn't the quiet town you were hoping for I'm guessin?"_** he asked, making me laugh and nod my head again as I climbed into bed.

"Turns out looks can be quite deceiving." I replied, my eyes drifting to my bedroom window as the rain continued to batter down against the glass pane. "I like it though, weather and all." I paused, glancing over at my bedroom door, "I'm actually trying out for the school volleyball team on Friday…" I said quietly, having not told my Dad or Bella yet.

**"_Really? That's great; I didn't know you were into that…"_** Jacob replied making me smile as I shrugged my shoulders, playing with the buttons on my pajamas. I wasn't setting any hopes on making the team, I mean, if I did that'd be great but it wasn't I felt the need to shout about. Bella wouldn't be really interested and Dad, well, Dad didn't really get volleyball but I knew he'd be happy if I made the team.

"I played on the team back in Phoenix, pre-season games don't start for a couple months but one of the girls dropped out so there was an open slot. I figured why not try out." I explained, thankful Jessica had thought of me when try-outs had been mentioned

**"**_**I'll have to come and watch you play."** _Jacob said and I could hear the smile in his voice if that were even possible and it only brought about my own. Chuckling to myself I shook my head.

"If I make the team you're free to come watch us play, but stay away on Friday." I warned him, not needing the distraction, even though I knew he'd be the ever supportive friend. Glancing at my bedside clock I groaned, not wanting to hang up but knowing that I needed the sleep if I wanted to have any chance of getting up in the morning, Jacob too. "You do know we've been on the phone for two hours." I pointed out as I pulled my phone away from my ear to glance at it.

**"_Nah we haven't….oh, crap…didn't even realize."_** Jacob replied and I knew that he to, had just checked his phone, surprised at how long we'd been talking when in reality it felt like less than that. **_"Guess we best call it a night…talk tomorrow?"_**

"You know it." I answered, the last few nights it had almost become routine to talk to each other, whether it be by text or a call. I had to admit I liked that. Pausing I sighed softly, "Goodnight Jacob."

_**"Night Grace."**_ He said and there was another brief pause before we both hung up the phone. For a few moments I stared at the screen, before smiling again and laying it on my bedside cabinet, letting the silence and stillness of the room surround me.

I couldn't wait for Friday, wait for the weekend. Burrowing deeper down into my covers I let my eyes flicker back to the window as the rain continued to hammer against it. It was calming but there was also something setting my nerves on edge, like a restless dread in the pit of my stomach. From out of nowhere that feeling hit me, like something wasn't right and without hesitation I had thrown back my covers and climbed out of bed, hurried to my door and left the safety of my room.

The house was quiet and still as I listened carefully, moving through the darkness to the source of my worry. It was hard to explain why I was heading to Bella's room, in the middle of the night but I couldn't shake off what I was feeling, so I pushed on and opened her door quietly.

Peering into the bedroom I held my breath and looked around, my eyes locating my sister sleeping peacefully in her bed. Satisfied but still unable to shake off whatever this was I scanned the room, my steps quiet as I made my way to the window which was surprisingly wide open. Grimacing from the slight damp beneath my feet from the rain soaked carpet I carefully pulled down the window, sliding the catch into place before stepping back.

As I stared through the glass and outside into the darkness I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Swallowing down the lump in my throat I fought to squash down the feeling that I was being watched and shut the curtains closed, closing myself off from the outside and Bella too. Wrapping my arms around myself I looked at Bella again before quietly making my way out of her room and back into my own, craving the safety of my own bed.

Curling up beneath the duvet, I shuffled back till my backside was against the wall, feeling more at ease with my back now covered. Still as I began to slip into a restless sleep, trying to ignore my paranoia, I couldn't shake off the feeling that we weren't alone and none of us were particularly safe….

_**-0-**_

_**Been a long while, I know and all I can do is apologize. I let work get on top of me and in truth I've been way too stressed to even feed the muse for this story. I'm getting back into it now though, slowly but surely and I had a question or two for you guys.**_

_**How do you feel about maybe me fiddling with the timeline a bit? Like having certain things happen sooner than they originally occurred in the books?**_

_**Also how are you guys liking the relationship between Bella and Grace? See instead of going down the familiar route and having them at odds, I wanted to show how close they actually are as sisters and twins, so that when everything starts happening we see how things can start to fall apart. Grace loves her sister but she won't agree with her decisions and definitely won't support them. Bella's actions are going to cause serious damage to the Swan family that's for sure. **_

_**Until next time! Let me know what you guys think! Remember reviews encourage faster posting!**_

_ReikeMe – Happy to hear you like Grace and I'm glad you think she makes Bella seem better. I always imagined she'd be a bit better if she'd had a sister. That's not to say I like her, truth is I don't but I wanted their relationship to be real, it'll be more dramatic when Bella starts cutting cords. Grace and Jacob already have the building blocks to their friendship; things will get very dramatic for them around the time of New Moon. Keep reading and I'd love to know what you think of this chapter._

_Lola Tudor – Oh this story is going some dark places trust me. Things are set to get complicated and painful for all characters…there's a lot of growing up set to happen._

_TwiFan- Everyone's loving the Bella…so happy to hear you like Grace too she is by far my favourite OC as her journey is set to be incredibly bumpy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four – Hold my hand**

_And please, say to me,  
You'll let me hold you hand  
Now let me hold you hand  
I wanna hold your hand_

_**The Beatles - I want to hold your hand**  
_

_**-0-**_

"Is Bella sitting with Edward again?"

I looked away from Mike and Tyler, to face Jessica who was staring off to something behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I stared across the canteen to where my sister was currently sat and I had to fight back the frown that threatened to appear on my face. There sat on a separate table to his family was Edward and Bella, doing that weird staring thing they did. This was the third time this week they'd sat together and it was taking some effort not to let it bother me.

I didn't know Edward and hated judging but the first impression I had gotten from him through my sister hadn't been a good one. Added to that, was the fact I didn't like how Bella was acting around him, it was almost unhealthy how infatuated she was with him already. I had to remind myself though that it wasn't my business, not really, but I was still set on talking to her later and maybe pointing out she was diving in way too fast, especially considering only last week he was treating her like a bad smell. Yes, I was going to talk to her, after try-outs.

"I guess so." I said as I turned to face Jessica again, shooting both her and Angela a small smile as I reached for more fries. Brushing my hair behind my ear I looked at Jessica, "So anyone I should watch out for today?" I asked her by way of turning the subject off my sister and onto something else. For a moment it looked like Jessica wanted to say more about Edward and Bella but she seemed to catch on and instead indulged me in the topic change.

"Well there's Chelsea, she's still bitter over Meg being kicked off the team so she's not too happy about you guys trying out…" she explained and I groaned, "Don't worry about her though, the others are pretty cool so you'll be fine." She added, smiling at me before popping the straw of her drink into her mouth. Glancing past her and to Angela, I laughed, sharing an amused look with the other girl.

"Well alright then, thanks." I said shaking my head. Chelsea wasn't exactly known for being the most welcoming or kind spoken girl around school, so knowing she wasn't too into the idea of me or any other girl trying out set my nerves a little on edge. Not enough to contemplate skipping out, no I was confident I could do this. I was excited and I knew the more extra-curricular activities I did, the better it would look on any college application I filled out next year. With my AP classes and the extra credit work I was doing, I felt like I had a good chance of being accepted somewhere half-way decent when I graduated.

Shooting a smile at Jessica and Angela I looked down at my plate again, drowning out the conversation at our table to once again look over my shoulder back towards my sister. I wanted to tell her everything but she'd been somewhat distracted this week, if she wasn't at lunch with Edward she was fixed to her computer back home, claiming 'research'. On what I didn't know but only last night she'd turned down sitting with me and Dad and retired to her room, skipping dinner.

Sighing softly, I let my gaze linger on them for a second longer, ready to turn away when Edward focused his attention on me. His eyes narrowed somewhat as though he was struggling almost, to figure something difficult out. Frowning I turned away quickly, struggling to push down that knot in my stomach, the knot that felt like a warning, a warning of something life changing occurring.

_**-0—**_

"Get it!"

Rushing forward, I jumped up as Jessica hit the ball, using my fist to punch it over the net, watching as I landed on my feet and we scored the point. A cheer erupted from my team as the game ended. I had to admit I'd been expecting something else but try-outs had consisted of the current team being split up and pitted against each other, in a bid to see what I had to offer. Without sounding too big headed I'd been happy with how I'd played and could only hope Tori and the others had been too.

"You were great." Jessica whispered as we high fived, clasping hands briefly as Tori approached. Taking a breath, I wiped my hands together and shot the other girl a smile, as she came to a stop in front of me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You did good." She said, and I bit down on my bottom lip, strangely nervous. I watched as she looked around her team before turning her focus back on to me. "I may be the captain but we've always made decisions as a group, that's how it works here…so with that said…all those in favour of Grace joining the team raise your hand." She said, brushing a lock of her blonde hair over her shoulder as she raised her own hand.

Again, how they were doing things was new, but I wouldn't say I didn't like it. It almost felt more personal this way. Holding my breath I watched as one by one the girls raised their hands and I was finally accepted onto the team. Clapping my hands internally I ticked off yet another thing off my list of things to do this year to pump up my resume for college.

_**-0-**_

"So…you and Bella were gone for a while today."

I watched as Jacob looked up at me from his position on my bedroom floor, his brow furrowed slightly from either confusion or concentration. It'd been three hours since we'd returned from the beach and Billy and Jacob had dropped by again. I didn't mind them being here so much, in fact I think I liked it a lot more than Bella did, getting to spend more time with Jacob and all. Speaking of Bella she locked away in her room with one of her new books, refusing dinner again.

"Yeah, she had a few questions about tribal legends and such." Jacob replied, returning that confused expression back down to the laptop I'd perched on top of my dressing table chair. Frowning, I debated pushing on what Bella had wanted to know but I found I didn't really care. With all the pulling away crap she'd been doing since that incident with the van, I didn't have much time for her. Chewing on the end of my liquorice whip I returned my focus onto the screen as well. "Is she really interested in that Cullen guy?" Jacob asked, breaking the silence after several moments.

Slightly startled I looked down at Jacob and felt my face pull into a sort of grimace. "Seems that way; though heaven knows why." I said, shaking my head. I was happy to see Jacob's expression closely mirrored my own and pushed away the slight worry of why he would be asking such a question.

"Yeah, the Cullen's are weird." He said and it was hard to miss the slight hint of something else in his voice, so my interest was piqued. Though I wasn't going to push him to elaborate any further, Edward Cullen was one of my least favorite people at the moment and since I hated the hold he had on my sister, I refused to waste any of my own time trying to find out more on him. There was something off-putting about the whole family, something that didn't sit right to me, but to Bella…you'd think he was the guy who hung the moon and stars, she was smitten.

"Pass me the pepperoni?" I said, holding out my hand and wiggling my fingers to Jacob. He smiled and leaned over to grab two slices of pizza from the takeaway box, passing me one and keeping the other for himself. I smiled before biting into the slice, enjoying the warmth I was feeling sat here with him. A movie playing on the laptop, Dad and Billy watching a game downstairs, and the rain battering down against the window outside, I'd never felt more at home.

"There's a serial killer, bumping off all of her friends and she decides to sleep alone…what the hell…" he exclaimed some seconds later, his face one of outrage as he turned to look at me. Laughing I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders,

"Girls in these movies tend to be a little stupid; a lot of the time it makes our gender look bad…" I told him, shaking my head as the girl on screen proceeded to have a conversation with her stalker instead of hanging up and calling the police. Then as if on cue the killer struck and the heroine began running up the stairs, completely bypassing the front door. "See, it's all there." I scoffed and Jacob laughed.

"Nah, the girls kick ass at the end…stands up to the killer, fights back." He pointed out and I smiled, I had to give him that. As I finished my pizza I glanced at Jacob again, then smiled, shifting so I was sat up. Crossing my legs I moved behind him, "What you doing…?" he asked, yet instead of answering I carefully removed the hair tie from his hair and reached for the brush on my bedside cabinet.

"Just be quiet and watch the film." I told him teasingly. To my surprise Jacob did what I asked and allowed me to play with his hair. Sat there in silence I began to put thin braids throughout, happy that I'd finally managed to get my fingers in his hair. Like I'd thought, it was incredibly soft, the strands silky smooth and what made it better was he seemed comfortable enough to allow me to mess with it.

"So you comin' next weekend or what?" he asked some minutes later, his eyes fixed on the movie I was supposed to be watching. "Embry and Quil are gonna be there…" he added and I smiled, the boys I'd met today were nice. Boyish and playful but nice, Jacob trusted them and that was all I needed to know that they were good people.

"Sure sounds good, we headin' the beach again?" I asked, finding it was quickly becoming one of my favorite places to hang out.

"Yeah, the guys wanna do a bit of cliff-diving…"

"Cliff-diving? That sounds…dangerous." I commented, cutting him off as he spoke. Jacob though chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, scary as hell yeah but a total rush…plus we're not jumping from high up" he explained but still I had my doubts. Instead of voicing them however I felt my mouth snap shut when Bella entered the room, dressed and ready for bed. Her eyes flickered between Jacob and I, a slight frown on her face. "You forget how to knock?" I asked, still a little hurt by her lack of interest when I'd announced my acceptance onto the volleyball team.

When I had come home last night and told both her and Dad, Dad had been ecstatic, somewhat proud that I was pursuing something sporty, even if he didn't completely understand how it worked. Bella however had said a simple, yet distracted 'well done' and slinked back up to her bedroom. If we were being honest, her coming into my room now was the first time in a week she'd approached me of her own accord. Her eyes were wide, excited, like she was in on some big secret.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to Jacob…Jake, do you remember what you said on the beach?" she asked and I felt a flare of irritation erupt in my chest at the nickname and the fact she was still obsessing over whatever it was she had been talking to Jacob about. "About the Cullen's supposedly being this enemy clan…the cold ones….?"

"You've got to be kidding me…" I muttered, letting my hands fall away from Jacob's hair, frustration flooding through me. I felt Jacob shift, his back against the bed and in turn my crossed legs, and then he shook his head turning his head to look up at Bella.

"Bella they're just stories…" Jacob reasoned, but looking at Bella I knew her well enough to realize she didn't believe that. Jacob seemed to pick up on that as well since he elaborated. "There are probably books on the legends though in Port Angeles." Bella's face lit up and she nodded before rushing back out of the room without so much as a thank you. Jacob slowly turned to look at me, "What's going on with her?" he asked and I found it to be a very valid question.

"Your guess is as good as mine. She's fixated on this Cullen guy at school." I told him, combing my fingers through my hair and I saw Jacob shift again, so he was sitting more on his side, resting his arm across my legs.

"You don't like him?" he asked. I looked across at the door then back to Jacob, shaking my head as my fingers played with his hair tie. Jacob put his hand over mine and squeezed lightly, drawing my attention back on to him.

"I don't like the hold he has over her, he's been a total ass since they met and she's just…I don't know infatuated…" I told him, sighing softly. "He just, really creeps me out." Jacob nodded his head, still holding my hand and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"Yeah, the whole family is a little weird." He replied

"_Jacob, your Dad's ready to go!"_

Jacob groaned and pulled a face, making me laugh lightly as I ruffled his hair. I was disappointed Billy had chosen to leave so soon, we were barely done with the movie and Bella had ruined the otherwise fun night in a matter of seconds. "You should get goin'." I sighed, lightly and playfully pushing his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah…" Jacob chuckled, pushing himself up into a standing position and stretching his arms over his head, groaning as he did. Laughing lightly I made to tie my hair, only to have my hands taken by Jacob when he tugged me up as well. When I was stood in front of him, Jacob pulled me in for a hug leaving me to wrap my arms instinctively around his shoulders. "Don't let it get to you."

I smiled softly against his shoulder and closed my eyes. Even this, hugging him felt so natural and almost like breathing. The frustration I'd felt over Bella quickly dissipated, it was just Jacob and me. Me and a guy I knew now, for sure was my best-friend. I'd learned pretty early on that Jacob was a very physical person, he liked to hold hands, he gave out spontaneous hugs like this and I found, I liked it. It was comforting and like him, I was very physical, I liked to touch, to hug.

"Not making any promises." I replied honestly, as we pulled out of the hug, the sound of the front door opening downstairs, indicating it was time to go. Jacob smiled lightly and nodded before taking a few steps back, "I'll call you tomorrow." I told him, standing in the middle of my room as he moved to the door. It was with a smile he looked back at me

"Sure, sure." He said lightly, giving me one more wave before he stepped out into the darkened hall and disappeared from sight. For a moment I remained looking at the bedroom door, before I turned and walked to the window. I watched as Dad helped Jacob get Billy into the truck, before closing my blinds and turning to sit on the edge of my bed.

Once again I was alone and that feeling of unease washed over me. I didn't like it, I really didn't mind being alone but lately there was something setting me on edge and I had no idea what the cause was. Trying my best to shrug it off I began the nightly routine I went through before bed, looking forward to burrowing beneath my covers, today had been extremely tiring, fun with Jacob and my friends, but tiring and I was looking forward to sleeping…if only I'd known then what was waiting for me when I closed my eyes.

_**-0-**_

_Waking suddenly I sat upright, unsure of what had woken me up. The room was quiet but cold, extremely cold and I slowly turned my gaze to the bedroom window. The curtains billowed in the wind, staring at them curiously I realized I couldn't remember leaving them open. I pulled back my covers and slid out of bed only to pause as the sound of creaking floorboards outside the room caught my ears. Then, just like some kind of creepy horror movie, my closed bedroom door slowly began to open, creaking as it did. _

_Holding my breath I waited for someone to appear but no one did, instead all I could see was the flickering of the hallway light. Without conscious thought my feet began to move of their own accord towards the door, before slowly leading me out into the hallway. "Dad? Bella?" I called out but no one replied, I felt my heart thumping against my chest with the uneasy feeling of being watched. _

"_Dad?" I slowly moved towards the stairs where I could still see the light from the television, indicating he was still up. Making my way down I tried to shake off the sense of foreboding, of dread and my skin prickled from the cold. With my hand trailing across the wall I quietly stepped into the living room, frowning at the static picture on the television. Letting my eyes move to the couch I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing my Dad laying down fast asleep. _

_With a small smile I made my way over to him, "Dad…Dad, come on you fell asleep…" I said quietly, moving around the couch to give his shoulder a shake when he didn't move. "Dad come…" I trailed off, frowning deeply the feel of something wet on my hands. Slowly I withdrew my arm, staring at my palm but unable to see anything I leaned over to turn on the lamp._

_A piercing scream echoed throughout the room as I stared down at the unmoving figure of my Dad. The wet on my hand was blood, vibrant in color and trailing down my arm. My Dad lay there, his throat ripped so viciously his head was practically detached from his body and his eyes and move were open wide, pure terror on his once handsome face. Screaming out again in agony I tore out the room and back up the stairs, the blood on my hands leaving blood smeared along the banister and the wall. "Bella!"_

_Bursting through into Bella's room, I didn't break stride, instead I ran to her bed and shook her, tears streaming down my face. "Bella…Bella wake up it's Dad, something happened…" I cried out and shook her but she didn't move and it took me too long to realize just how cold she was. "Bella?" I shook her again and pulled back the covers, my stomach recoiling at the sight of her blood soaked sheets, bite marks tattooed all over her pale skin. _

_Stumbling back I collided with something solid, something that shouldn't be there and something as cold as both my sister and Father. Spinning around I came face to face with none other than Edward Cullen. His eyes were black; blood was smeared all around his mouth, over his teeth as he grinned at me manically. Before I could move his hand was around my throat and he was lifting me high in the air, clean off the ground. My fingers clawed at his marble like skin, not causing any real damage. _

"_Should have trusted your instincts Gracey…" he chuckled evilly, and my eyes widened in terror and panic as his other hand tightened in my hair and brought my neck to his open mouth, before a searing burning pain filled my body and everything went black… _

I screamed, screamed louder than I ever had before as I shot up in bed. Panicked, my eyes were wide, my tear streaked face was pale and my hair in disarray as I pushed and pulled against the tangled sheets around my legs. I could feel myself hyperventilating and unable to do anything about it because I was still in that stage of being awake but still caught up in the nightmare that had me terrified.

"Grace?!"

My bedroom door slammed open and my half asleep Dad came running into the room, gun held high. After scanning my room quickly, he dropped the gun on the desk and ran over to where I was sat panicking, his hands grasping my shoulders and then cupping my face as he repeated my name again, forcing me to look at him. "Grace, baby, look at me." He ordered, and I turned my wide eyes onto him.

"Dad…?" I croaked out, my hands reaching up to grab his arms as I tried to breath. My Dad smiled slightly and nodded his head and I was too focused on him to realise Bella was standing in the doorway, observing me quietly. "There was…and you and Bella…there was blood everywhere and he…" sobs wracked through my body as I remembered the horrible images.

"Baby, it was a nightmare. Just a nightmare okay, you're okay." He assured me and I used my hands on his arms to anchor myself onto his words, allowing myself to trust them. Still my heart raced and the tears still fell, though they were at least now slowing down. I knew he was right, it was a nightmare and it wasn't real he was prove of that, as was Bella but still I couldn't shake off this sick feeling that had followed me out of the dream, and why was Edward there?

"You okay sis?" Bella asked me quietly, stepping a little more into the room though he arms were crossed and she looked tired. Nodding my head I looked at her again only to have her nod, smile a little and head out the room back to her own. Now that stung, part of me half expected or hoped she'd jump into bed with me like we did whenever one of us had a bad dream, like a sort of comfort thing we shared.

Dad's hand now rubbed my arm reassuringly and I took another breath, glancing at the clock. Part of me wanted to tell him to go to bed but the selfish part of me needed him for just a while longer. "I'm sorry I woke you." I croaked out some quiet moments later. Dad though smiled, patting my hand.

"Don't worry about it kid, you goin' to be okay now?" he asked me and I nodded, then shook my head, clasping onto his hand. Dad waited patiently for whatever I was about to say.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep" I asked of him, feeling very much like a five year old but as of right now I didn't care. That dream had shook something inside of me, the terror I'd felt inside of it still hadn't left me. Dad's presence offered comfort so if I wanted to try and sleep again I wanted him here. To my immense relief Dad nodded, leaning over to press a kiss to my forehead.

"I'll stay until you go to sleep." He said, sliding down off the side of the bed to sit on the floor, his back against the bed and still holding my hand. Swallowing down the lump in my throat I shuffled back down into bed, curling the covers around me and burying my head into my pillow, though I didn't close my eyes and Dad noticed, "It's okay." He said softly and I nodded, taking a breath before shutting my eyes, focusing on breathing and Dad's hand holding onto mine. It didn't take long for me to start to drift off again and just before the blackness consumed me, I heard one last thing, "I got you baby girl, nothing's ever going to hurt you."

If only we'd realized what was coming…

_**-0-**_

_**Here is the long awaited Chapter update. Reasons for it being so late are many, I could blame work, or life and I guess in a way they do factor in but the truth is I just lost muse for this story. However after a lot of plotting I've come to the some interesting points. I'm not going to focus too heavily on Book 1 in fact I'm skimming it as best I can and those parts you recognize are necessary for the story. This is Jacob's and Grace's story not Bella's, so yeah. You may also notice some differences in time here, I will be messing about with it a little to make it fit Grace's story.**_

_**Part of me has been worried not many people like it. If you're a follower and you've never reviewed, please let me know what you think it's those reviews that make it such a joy to write because you know then that people appreciate these characters just as much as you.**_

_**Really hope to hear of you all!**_

_Layla347 – I know it's been a while but I hope you're still with us. Hope you enjoyed this chapter; things are set to get increasingly more intense._

_Captain-Spangled – Bella and Grace's relationship is fun and I'm really looking forward to seeing if it can survive what Bella's bringing into their lives. It'll be fun to see how her selfish decisions affect her family and what repercussions hanging out with vampires will have on them. They do love each other but I am worried for them. Grace and Jacob are my favorites and their phone call was fun…I hope I'm making their relationship natural here…starting it off with a fast friendship? What do you think?_

_RiekeMe – Grace totally has the feelings already she just doesn't really recognize them as that right now. Age definitely won't be an issue for them, she's not Bella. As you can see she does have her reservations about Edward, reservations that get worse, she's not going to be someone who is going to like him very much, he's going to be at the center of her world tipping upside down…I think Grace will see him and the others for what they are…she's not going to have rose tinted glasses like Bella. The lovey dovey chapters are a bit away but that doesn't mean there won't be a lot of interesting stuff leading us up to that…lets just say though Grace isn't the only one with feelings already…hope you like this chapter._

_Lytebrytehybrid88 – Will Bella ruin Grace and Jake? Will Bella just use Jacob when the Cullen's leave when he should be focused on Grace? I don't know but thinks are about to get interesting and I am looking forward to Bella's depression. It's going to make Grace open her eyes to her sister, it's going to make her realise a few things and well, her life is going to change dramatically. Grace's heart will be hurt, her life will be in danger and can her and Jacob still come together after all that? We will see…but Bella's about to do things that will greatly affect hers and Grace's relationship._

_Cassie-D1 – No Jacob is not obsessed with Bella. I couldn't stomach that and neither will he ever be obsessed with her. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five **

_The tension is here  
__Tension is here  
__Between who you are and who you could be  
__Between how it is and how it should be  
__I dare you to move_

_**Dare you to move – Switchfoot **_

_**-0-**_

The following weekend after my acceptance onto the volleyball team and my nightmare flew by quickly. The truth was so much had happened in such a short space of time, it was hard to believe sometimes it had only been a week. Bella and Edward had become some sort of couple, seemingly out of the blue and the in-tenseness of the relationship was off putting. In fact it was downright scary, they'd skipped the usual stages of dating and jumped straight into spending all their time together and I'd even heard Bella use the word 'love'.

I didn't like it. I didn't like any of it. Ever since that night, that dream I'd been restless, plagued with this uneasy feeling I couldn't shake. I hated the hold Edward seemed to have over Bella, how she seemed so infatuated with him but she wouldn't listen to any of my concerns. In fact when I'd broached the topic of Edward with her and suggested that maybe she should consider taking a step back, I'd been shut down and we hadn't spoken since.

"_Bella, can we talk?"_

"_Can we make it quick, Edwards coming to pick me up for a drive?" Bella said, her voice taking on that breathless tone it did when she spoke of him. Frowning at her back I shook my head, feeling a flare of annoyance rise up inside me._

"_Bella I tried to talk to you this morning and you told me to come back after school and now…what, now you're too busy again?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, fighting down the childish urge to stomp my foot when she didn't turn to look at me._

"_I know but Edward…"_

"_Can you not just cancel with him tonight so we can talk? I can't remember the last time we actually just sat down together and spent time just talking." I said, Bella looked at me and frowned, shaking her head and looking exasperated. I knew she couldn't deny it, for the last two weeks we'd been distant with her so focused on anything Edward related. Last week she was obsessed with finding out who he was and now she was spending every free second she had being with him, or being locked in her room. _

"_We'll talk when I get back Grace, I have to go…" she said, going to move past me._

"_What the hell is this hold he has over you?" I asked, unable to bite my tongue. I was frustrated and all I wanted was Bella back, I didn't like who she was becoming._

"_Don't…don't Grace just leave it! I need to go to him now." She said brushing past me a little more roughly than I was used to. Closing my eyes I inhaled sharply, jumping when the door slammed shut, before I turned and headed back to my own room._

We hadn't spoken like she'd promised, in fact since Wednesday night we'd said barely two words to each other and I knew Dad was picking up on the tension. To his credit though he didn't push the subject, he was good enough to let us go through whatever this was on our own, without interfering. The house was much quieter with Bella being with Edward most evenings and me either studying or practicing volleyball.

I was at the stage now where I felt like I was slowly losing the closeness Bella and I used to share. There'd been a time we told each other everything, we weren't just sisters, or twins we had been friends. Now I looked at Bella and I hardly recognized her. Part of me wondered if maybe I was overreacting about this whole thing, that maybe I was just jealous that Bella now had this guy to be interested in. The other part, the much larger part of me knew that couldn't have been further from the truth though. I wasn't jealous of Edward; if I was anything I was scared. Maybe it was an irrational fear but it was still there and it wasn't something I could so easily shake off. I had a good sense of people and something about Edward that had triggered all of my warning bells.

I was taking a step back though. Bella didn't want my input on her, well, whatever the hell they were and I wasn't going to stand around waiting for her to acknowledge me again. Instead I was focusing on my own life and everything I now had going on. I had volleyball, a tonne of extra-credit work for school, I'd applied to work part time at the diner, I had my amazing friends in school and I was spending my evenings reconnecting with Dad. Finally there was Jacob, with whom I was having a blast. Hanging out with him and the guys kind of took my mind off the pain that was my sister right now.

Whilst Bella was off at a baseball game, Jacob and I had headed to the beach. Whilst there we'd met up with Quil and Embry whom I didn't know very well yet but still got along with great. In fact it was hard not to feel immediately at ease and comfortable around them all. Though I will point out there was one downside to hanging out with them and it was their insane desire to indulge in cliff-diving. I'll be the first to admit it looked fun and everything but as of right now I was putting my foot down and refusing to jump.

"Okay I changed my mind…this is crazy, you guys are crazy and I'm going back down there to wait for you all to either come to your senses or drown." I exclaimed taking a step back away from the cliff edge. We weren't that high up, in fact we were a lot lower than I had expected but it was still high enough for me to chicken out, in a way I'd never done before. Stood behind me Jacob and his friends laughed, earning a glare from me.

"Oh come on Swan this is nothing." Embry chuckled, nudging Quil before the pair of them squared up to the cliff edge. My eyes darted from them, to the water below, to the darkening clouds and then to Jacob, shooting him a look to try and get him to say something.

"Relax Grace; this isn't the first time we've done this. I told you its perfectly safe." Jacob said, coming to stand beside me. I narrowed my eyes up at him briefly before scoffing, crossing my arms over my chest and turning back to face the boys. I opened my mouth to say something else when they began to go over the edge, Embry making a big show of dramatically falling. Feeling my heart leap into my chest I gasped and hurried forward to look at them go over.

A hand grabbed hold of mine before I could topple myself over the edge and I clung tightly to it. My eyes watched the two boys falling before they crashed into the water below. Holding my breath I waited and it wasn't long before they both burst free of the surface, laughing and high fiving each other. Letting out a breath I turned back to Jacob and playfully punched his arm, when I realized he was laughing and watching me.

"Quit laughing you jerk." I scowled, narrowing my eyes playfully at him. Jacob scoffed and shoved my shoulder before stepping up to the cliff edge. Watching him my eyes widened and grabbed his hand again. "Jake…"

"Come on Grace…" Jacob said, sighing as he looked at me. He smiled reassuringly, "Me and the guys do it all the time, I promise it's safe…you'll love it…" he told me and I chewed down on my lip, eyeing the cliff edge skeptically. "Come on…I thought you were some kind of adrenaline junkie…" he teased and I rolled my eyes laughing lightly as he held out his hand to me again. "Come on…trust me…you'll love it."

There it was. The 'trust me' thing and I knew that I could. I knew Jacob wouldn't be pulling me into anything really dangerous. I was a good swimmer, the guys had just done it and they were okay, so maybe I was making a mountain over nothing. Blowing out a breath and shaking my head I reached for Jacob's hand, our fingers linking together naturally as I moved to stand beside him.

"Okay, let's do this before I chicken out again." I said and Jacob laughed, tugging me just that little bit closer to the edge.

"Ready?" he asked, waiting for a nod before he squeezed my hand. "Okay, well one…two…three…" and with that we were flying.

My feet left solid ground and suddenly I was jumping away from safety and into the air. I felt my heart leap into my chest as my body began to fall through the air. In the distance I could hear whoops and hollers but above all that was the wind rushing past my ears. The noise was incredible and as we drew closer to the water it only intensified. I had the good sense to breathe in deeply and hold my breath as we hit the water and sunk below the surface.

The first thing that hit me was how cold it was. The pressure pushing in on me from all sides didn't bother me, but how cold it was only spurred me on into kicking back to the top. Mine and Jacob's hands were still linked tightly as we both kicked upwards and as we burst through the surface and sucked in a deep breath we both laughed loudly. My heart was racing in my chest, the adrenaline rush felt incredible, even from jumping so low down.

"Go Swan!"

"Whoo!" I cheered back to Embry, laughing lightly as I continued to try and stay above the water line. Jacob laughed, saying something to Quil about how he was owed 10 dollars. Barely suppressing a chill I began to follow the guys back to the beach, pausing only to take note of the changing weather. Hearing another incredible crack of thunder I shook myself to attention and carried on swimming back to the beach with my heart still racing inside my chest.

Pushing on when I could finally touch the ground with my feet, I straightened up and ran the rest of the way out of the water. Jacob was already holding out a towel for me to run into and after wrapping it around me I allowed him to envelope me in his arms, him bring his own towel around me slightly too. Shivering I let my head rest against his shoulder and smiled, slightly proud of myself as my eyes took in the cliff we'd just jumped from.

"Hand it over." Jacob said and curious, I looked up to see Quil grabbing his jacket that we'd left on the beach and pulling out 10 dollars, handing it over to Jacob. Frowning I looked between them before rolling my eyes in amusement and lightly hitting Jacob against the chest as we parted. Jacob had the nerve to look affronted at my attack, "Hey, I bet in support, Quil's the one who said you'd never do it." He said, chuckling when my only response was to stick out my tongue.

"You did good Swan, maybe next time you can jump from higher." Embry said, bringing my focus onto him at the suggestion. Looking from him, to the cliff and then back again I laughed and shook my head.

"Listen I love taking risks as much as the next person but ain't no way I'm jumping from the top. I like being alive." I told him firmly, making all of them laugh. As the chatter broke out between the boys, I let the towel from around my shoulders fall away and began trying to towel dry my hair, suppressing a shiver.

"Great, look who's here."

The way in which Quil spoke sparked my interest and I straightened up to see all three of them looking past me at something, the relaxed atmosphere gone. Frowning I turned around to see who or what they were looking at and saw two incredibly built guys only a short distance away from us. Both guys were stood over 6 feet, with perfectly crafted bodies. If the atmosphere wasn't so tense, I may even take a moment to appreciate what I was seeing but instead I refocused my attention on the guys.

"Weirdo's." Embry muttered, all but glaring at the strangers before shaking his head and turning around. Quil took a step back, looking uneasy but tapping Jacob on the shoulder anyway.

"Come on man, suddenly not feelin' the beach." He said, turning to follow Embry. Confusion flooded my entire expression and I opened my mouth to voice it but instead my attention was drawn back onto Jacob, who hadn't moved yet. Taking in his expression I felt worry and was suddenly very wary of the strangers, so much so I took a step next to Jacob, his eyes fixed on the strangers. His whole posture was tensed, his hands curled into tight fists as I reached out to him.

My much smaller hand wrapped around his, my other wrapping around his arm. "Jacob, come on lets go." I said gently, my fingers managing to un-clench his hand. I felt the relief flood through me when his fingers threaded with mine and he finally looked back down at me. Offering a small smile, I didn't resist as he finally turned his back on the strangers and threw his arm over my shoulder, drawing me into his side. I went willingly; glad when we finally began following the other two but I still couldn't help the bubble of curiosity I felt. "What was that all about? Who were they?" I asked as we caught up to the guys, all of us heading towards the cars.

"Sam Uley and Jared Cameron, first class assholes." Embry muttered and I looked at him in mild shock at hearing such language. I barely suppressed a shiver causing Jacob to tighten his hold on me and I was thankful for that. We were both struggling in the wet clothes but having him close helped some.

"They're strange…actually used to be okay but I dunno…" Jacob trailed off and shrugged his shoulders as we walked. He was troubled, I could tell just by the expression on his face so I didn't push, not when the guys had the same look on their faces. As thunder cracked overhead again I found myself curled tighter into Jacob's side unable to ignore that coil of dread in my stomach, the one that had been building for the last week getting worse and I couldn't figure out if it was because of what had just happened or something else. All I knew was something was coming.

_**-0-**_

"Go away Edward!"

Stopping what I was doing I glanced towards my bedroom door in time to hear the front door slam shut. I dropped the towel I'd been using to towel dry my hair after my shower and hurried towards the door, opening it just in time to see Bella rushing up the stairs.

"I just gotta get out of here, now!" she exclaimed, rushing up the stairs and straight into the bathroom, grabbing her bag and shoving a few things into it. Stepping out into the hall I watched Dad follow her, looking how I felt, confused at how Bella was acting.

"What happened? Did he break up with you?" Dad asked her and I felt my confusion grow. Bella was frantic, not slowing down or stopping long enough to talk to Dad. Bella pushed past him,

"No, I broke up with him." She told him, trying to get into her room. I stepped forward, finally finding my voice at this piece of news.

"_You_ broke up with him?" I asked, watching her surprise at my sudden appearance. Instead of answering me though she rushed into her room and slammed the door closed behind her. I felt my mouth open and close as I stared at the door for a few moments, before turning to Dad, the pair of us completely bewildered by what was happening. "What did she mean she's got to get out of here?" I asked after a few moments passed by, suddenly remembering what I'd heard her saying.

"I mean I don't want this, I don't want to be here, and I need to get away." Bella said as she came rushing out of her room, shoving a pair of jeans into the already overstuffed bag. When she ran down the stairs I wasted no time running after her, Dad right behind me. "I need to go home."

"This is home Bella. Mom's not even in Phoenix you know that!" I said, rushing after her as she went into the kitchen. Unable to fully recognize my sister in this moment, this wasn't Bella, she didn't act like this, ever, and it was so out of character.

"I'll call her from the road; tell her what I'm doing. She'll come home" Bella said, and I shook my head turning around to Dad, who looked completely lost. He did though step forward and try and get in front of Bella, forcing her to stop and look at him.

"At least wait until morning, if you still want to go I'll drive you to the airport myself." He said, but Bella shook her head again.

"I want to drive. Clear my head and if I get tired I'll pull into a motel." She assured him and I scoffed, looking at the twin I barely seemed to know at the moment.

"Bella just stop, you're being ridiculous, okay. We promised we'd do this together, you and me. We're getting the chance to reconnect with Dad. We'll start doing more stuff together, as a family it'll be fun…"

"Like what?" she spat back at me, "Watching baseball on the flat screen? Dinner at the diner every other night? Or I know maybe we could do one of the other million things this town has to offer…" she said sarcastically and I retracted my hand away from her. Bella shook her head and pushed past me, going for the front door with Dad hot on her tail.

"Bella come on, please. I just got you girls back. Stay for another week, by then your Mother will be home" he told her and I watched as Bella paused at the front door. I observed her carefully, the way she'd spoken to me; practically spat on the idea of being a family had hurt me. Once again she was acting like a complete idiot over Edward. How could she justify running away from her family just because she ended things with her boy-friend. I tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear what she said before rushing out the front door and towards her truck.

"Yeah and you know if I don't get out of here now I'm going to be stuck here just like Mom was."

Her words had acted like a slap in the face for my Dad who I watched recoil back from the vicious tongue of my sister. He was hurt and rightly so, that had been a horribly low blow. I was in shock that it had been Bella of all people to say something so cruel, so hurtful. That wasn't who she was; she wasn't the kind of person to lash out like that regardless of what she was going through. Even though we had been distant lately I still knew that to be true about her.

"Dad?" I spoke softly, but he just shook his head closing the door with a quiet click. He turned to face me and opened his mouth as if to say something but immediately closed it. He looked incredibly hurt and I wanted nothing more than to give him a hug but as it turned out, Dad needed to just process what had happened on his own. He walked over to me and pressed a kiss to my forehead, his hand lightly brushing against my head before he turned and took to the stairs. I watched him go until I heard his bedroom door close and it was only when I was alone that I was able to shake myself out of the shock I felt.

Turning around I pulled my mobile phone out of my pajama pocket and quickly dialed Bella's number. Heading into the kitchen, I peered out the window as the phone rang out, cutting off midway through and going straight to voice mail. Sighing I shook my head, "Bella I don't know what's happening but what you just did was incredibly mean. Dad has done nothing but try since we got here and what, you've had a falling out with Edward so the rest of us have to suffer the fall out of that? Leaving was incredibly stupid. I don't care what happened between you both but just either come back home or call us just to let us know you're safe. Love you."

I hung up the phone and leaned against the window frame, combing my fingers through my damp hair whilst still staring outside. My chest felt heavy, my stomach twisted in knots with something I could only describe as dread. When my phone began to ring however I was pulled out of focusing on where that feeling was coming from. Not even looking to see who was calling I pressed the answer button and put the phone up to my ear, "Bella?"

"_No Jake, you okay?" _his warm voice was immediately full of concern, seemingly picking up on my mood after just that one word.

"Not really. Bella's taken off back to Phoenix." I explained, feeling a warmth flood through me from hearing his voice.

"_Seriously? What happened?"_

"Edward. I don't know really she didn't really go into what happened, she just came storming in about ten minutes ago, packed her bags and walked out." I told him, wanting nothing more than a Jacob hug. For some reason his hugs were like magic, they made you feel warm and safe, like everything was going to be okay.

"_Jeez, did Charlie not go after her?" _he asked and again I sighed, glancing towards the stairs before back out the window.

"Think he wanted to. He tried to get her stay but um, Bella said some pretty hurtful things. He's upstairs right now, I think what she said…" I trailed off and frowned, pressing myself closer to the glass catching sight of something red in the distance.

"_What?...Grace?...You still there_?" I narrowed my eyes as I looked towards the tree line, not sure what I'd seen but sure I'd seen something or someone. Pushing away from the window I headed towards the front door and opened it. _"Grace?"_

"Yeah hang on I think there's someone watching the house." I told him, stepping outside onto the porch. "I'm just outside now."

"_No don't, get back inside and go get Charlie." _Jacob said making me pause. He was right, though looking at the treeline now I couldn't see anyone, making me in turn question whether I had seen anything. Taking a step back up the stairs, I kept looking,_ "Grace if you don't get your butt back in that house, I'll drive down there myself…"_

"I'm going; I'm going, jeez…" I laughed slightly and made my way onto the porch and threw the front door, making sure to lock it behind me. "I'm back in the house." I assured Jacob, flicking the kitchen light off and heading up the stairs. "You know you're kinda bossy." I told him.

"_Guess you're rubbing off on me a little…" _he joked and I laughed, the action feeling good despite everything that was going on. Upon stepping into my room I frowned at the open window, sure that it had been closed before. _"What you guys goin' to do about Bella?" Jacob asked. _

"Not sure. She said she'd call but I think Dad will more than likely get in touch with Mom; let her know what's happened." I answered, walking over to the window and suppressing a shiver from the chill. Closing it, I slipped the lock on and closed the curtains once more. "Not really anything we can do. I just…I don't know…she's never acted like that before." I paused and shook my head as I dropped onto the edge of my bed. "I don't really want to talk about it anymore. I'm pretty upset with her…"

"_The guys were saying we should all try and do something again next weekend if you're up for it."_ Jacob said, changing the topic straight away and for that I was thankful. I couldn't think on Bella anymore, as I couldn't understand why she had been the way she had. It served as another reason why I'd disapproved of Edward and I knew I should be happy she had at least ended it but something told me that it was far from over yet and there was more to the story than Bella had let on.

_**-0-**_

_**Been a hell of a long time between updates I know and I don't really have an excuse other than lack of inspiration for this story. I've found it again however thanks to a small, hopefully different aspect I'll be adding around the beginning of New Moon. **_

_**Also can I ask you guys how you feel about me messing around with the time frames here? Like the length of time Edward and co are gone for. When they come back etc? If you could let me know in the comments I'd really appreciate it.**_

_**The story received quite a few Guest reviews, and I'd just like to say a big thank you to those who took the time out to comment. Every review makes me smile and I really appreciate your guys kind words. Hopefully next time you can leave your names so I can thank you individually. **_

_Lytebrytehybrid88 – No. This story isn't solely centered on Bella's decisions and how they affect her family. Do they play a part, of course but this is Grace and Jacob's story and they're going to face a lot of obstacles on their journey. Bella does play a part in the hurt, yes because I wanted to explore realistically how these somewhat selfish decisions would affect her family. _

_Layla347 – Here is more. Sorry it's been a while, but I was hit in the face with some inspiration over the last few weeks so hopefully you guys get as excited as I am. _

_NatLou87 – I agree. SM did let the wolves down. I think they had the most interesting stories and she obviously didn't see the potential here. I'd take the wolves stories over the vampires any day of the week, plus, they're a hell of a lot more fun and complex. _

_Sarah – Here's your update. Hope you enjoyed._


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